The Past Repeats
by xxdrew93xx
Summary: Lucas finds his great grandfathers old war diary and slowly begins to realize that they have a lot more in common than he would have thought possible. Set after season 3 and before the state title
1. Chapter 1

I've given up on my last story, got writers block and forgot where I was going with it. This is only the intro to a more thought out story, a little feedback and reviews would be great.

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'Why do I have to look for the old baby stuff' Lucas thought, 'can't Nathan do it instead it's his kid'. Lucas was in the attic shuffling around boxes trying to find some old baby things for Haley and Nathan.

"Hey Luke," Karen called as she popped her head above the attic opening, "I'm going out to the store to pick up a few things. Do you need anything?" Karen asked watching her son move several boxes around.

He turned around to look at her thinking about what he could need. "Yea mom if you could possibly grab me something new to read...I'm kinda already done with the last book you got me." He said with a smile as he ruined his hands on his shirt knocking some if the dusty off them.

Karen smiled back, "I'll see what I can do." she answered and began to go back down the ladder.

She disappeared down the ladder for a second before her head popped back up, "Luke watch what you're doing up here some of these boxes contain old memories and I think one even has your great grandfather's diary from the war in it so be careful alright".

He nodded his head and smiled at her, "Don't worry mom I won't destroy anything." he told her as she disappeared down the ladder again. He then went back to searching the attic for about ten minutes before he almost tripped over a small nondescript box.

'What the hell is this?' Lucas thought as he bent over to pick up the box that almost tripped him. As he picked it up he could tell that it was an older box with many nicks and scratches on the surface.

As he opened it he could tell that the objects in it were definitely old. There were several old pictures, a few military patches, and finally a leather bound book. As he lifted up the first picture he thought he saw himself in it, a tall thin and broody looking man in a military uniform standing next to another man in the same uniform.

'Who is this?' Lucas thought as he flipped the picture over and looked at the date on the back, it said 10/15/1943 on it. As he saw the date he understood what his mother was saying about his great grandfathers old things being in the attic.

"These must be his military mementos," Lucas said to himself picking up an old patch and reading it over, 101 airborne it said. He then reached for the book that sat by itself on the side of the box.

He opened up the first page and read the name at the top of the page written in beautiful cursive, _Eugene Andrew Roe_. He opened the next page and read the paragraph written and dated June 6th 1944.

'_If found please return to 77 Bragg avenue, Tree Hill, North Carolina. Also please tell the story enclosed in this book to my next of kin or be read by them after it has been delivered, it explains my life up till death and my fianc__é__e needs to about my struggles over here. God bless all who are fighting in this noble cause and may fate allow you to live long past this awful conflict_'

Lucas just stared at the first page debating whether or not to read this book. He knew his great grandfather survived the war, but apparently nobody had read his accounts that this book seemed to depict. After a few second Lucas thought to himself, 'Well I guess nobody has read this book since the box seems to be pretty organized, well no use in letting his writings go without reading them.'

And with the debate out of his head, he turned the page and began to read the beginning of his great grandfathers war diary, with the first entry being dated May 7th 1942.


	2. The Beginning

So this chapter is pretty much all flashback with the occasional move back to present time.

Tree Hill, North Carolina May 7th 1942

Eugene was a toned, blond haired, quiet seventeen year old who loved spending as much time in the library as the local basketball court. His brother Nathaniel was the opposite with dark black hair and the king of the school who preferred to be playing sports rather than doing schooling. They were accompanied by their two friends, Jacob Jagelski and Michael McFadden, as they had just left their last day of high school and were walking through downtown Tree Hill. The teens were on their way to the local recruiting station to join the cause and go fight Hitler over in Europe.

"So do you think they will allow us to join the same units together or do you think they will split us up?" Michael, a shorter brown haired kid with glasses and a penchant for radio announcers, asked as they continued down the street, looking at all the young kids trying to help with the war effort.

"Could not tell you mike, but I heard old coach Durham got the job as the local recruiter for the Tree Hill area. Maybe we could somehow convince him to get us in the same group of guys." Nathaniel answered as his thoughts began to drift toward what he would be doing in this new conflict.

Eugene on the other hand was thinking about what horrid actions may befall him and his friends. "Guys I think we should just try to find the best job that will allow us to survive the war, the news says that the Germans are a ferocious and well trained bunch." Eugene answered looking over at his friends as they all nodded their heads in agreement.

As they continued on their way down the road they saw a couple girls that they recognized, actually were really good friends with, walking down the road. One was a brunette with dark brown eyes and a shy smile, the other was also a brunette with brown eyes but her smile had the devil himself in it. These two lovely ladies were named Haley and Bonnie, the former being Nathaniel's girlfriend and the latter Eugene's.

The girls stopped at the window of an electronics store looking down at the two televisions showing the news. Nathaniel was the first to call out to them and began running across the street yelling, "Hales, Bonnie fancy seeing y'all downtown and not by the river."

Upon hearing their names being called both girls turned to see Nathaniel running in front, while the other three were bringing up the rear. "Nathaniel school just got out we got all summer to go down there." Haley answered him and shaking her head at him.

As the men all caught up to Nathaniel they caught what Haley had said and they all began to shake their heads. "We don't know how much longer we will be here Hales, didn't Eugene tell you we all agreed to enlist?" Nathaniel asked looking over his shoulder at his brother then back to his girl.

Haley on the other hand went from shocked to angry, looking past her boyfriend and at her best friend. "No he didn't seem to mention that on our last trip to the library. When did this great thought come to y'all's heads?" She asked giving all four a look that scared all the men.

"Well we're seventeen now and young and vital so it just seemed like something we should do...ya know for America." Eugene answered for the men knowing he was about to get the brunt of the backlash, both from Haley and from his girlfriend who was oddly quiet at the moment.

That quiet was shattered about five second after he answered Haley. The first thing was a loud crack filled the air as Eugene's head whipped to the side. "You didn't even tell me you were actually going to join up, all you said was you were thinking about it." Bonnie yelled with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I know that we didn't fully discuss this, but I was going to tell you as soon as we met up later tonight. Besides this is something we all have to do." Eugene answered calmly, afraid to make her more angry.

She stared at him for several second before walking fast away from the group and down a side street. Eugene looked back at the group shook his head and took off after her. "Bonnie wait up I know you're upset, but can't we just talk about this." He yelled after her

She stopped and turned looking at him, with tears coming down her face. "Talk about this, you're seventeen you guys shouldn't be fighting you should be home safe...with me." She yelled then ended quietly as the anger left her and fear replaced it.

He pulled her into a hug and held her before saying, "We might as well join now or else we'll probably get drafted. Then we won't be able to stay together as a group."

"I just don't want y'all to die. I'd be heartbroken if anything happened to any of y'all, especially you Eugene." She mumbled into his chest.

Eugene pulls her away and looks her in the eyes before telling her, "I know baby, but either way I'm probably going to fight and I promise you that I'll make it back to you, all of us, I promise." She then threw herself back into his chest and nodded her head understanding his reason and his promise.

"Alright lets go back, they're probably worried about us." Bonnie said wiping away the last of the few stray tears that were left.

As they got to the end of the street they could hear their friends talking about something in excited voices. News on the radio was reporting on the naval battle in the Pacific. "Those marine and navy guys are crazy. I want my feet on the ground not in the water." Jacob responded to the news report.

"Well it's a good thing we are joining the army then isn't it." Nathaniel answered with a laugh.

"Well we should probably hurry to the recruiter then Eugene said as he rounded the corner, it's going to close soon" he added looking at his watch.

"Ok so you girls going to come with us or you going window shopping still" Nathaniel asked looking at Haley.

"Eh you boys go do your thing...just make sure to tell me everything when y'all get home got it." Haley answered with a smile.

With a few goodbyes the guys and girls parted ways. The men continued down the street until they saw the sign for the recruitment center.

"well boys this is it...are we ready?" Eugene asked looking over all three of their faces. The nod from each one was his signal to turn around and open the door to the unknown ahead.

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Lucas was starting to get lost in the words that the diary possessed. He couldn't put it down, and now he realized where he got the writing from. He was just about to read the next page when he heard a noise from below.

"Lucas I'm home, are you still up there? I'm sorry but I couldn't find a book for you at the store." Karen yelled from the kitchen.

At hearing her voice Lucas began to descend the ladder back to the ground floor. "Don't worry mom, I found a book upstairs that is really good." He answered and began to walk back towards her.

As he entered the kitchen he saw her prong away the groceries. "Well that's good, I didn't know there was a book up there that could interest you." She answered turning around to her son.

Lucas laughed at her comment before answering, "It's not really a book per say

but rather a diary. Your grandfathers diary actually. Have you read it?" As he asked her the question he could see some confusion in her eyes.

She shook her head and turned back to putting the groceries away, "No I can't say I have read it. In fact I'm pretty sure I just tossed all his stuff up there right before you were born. You didn't really leave me with a lot of time to read that kind of stuff."

He reached for a bottle of water, and then looked over at his mom, "So it's ok for me to keep on reading this then?"

Karen just gave him a nod before beginning to start making dinner. "Luke it's fine, in fact you and your great grandfather have a lot in common if I remember correctly. It might be a good way to get to know him or at least have an idea of who he was."

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Ok so a review or whatever you want to do I don't care. Also we should pick up a little through the next few chapter, and I'll probably only post like every week or so.


	3. Joining Up

Lucas was in his bed laying down, thinking about Brooke and what the current status of their relationship was. 'Are we truly done or is she just blowing this out of proportion again' he thought to himself as his mind kept repeating the scene from Haley and Nathan's wedding through his mind.

But the way she had told him that she didn't need him anymore, that she was fine being on her own. Every time he thought about it it felt like a weight being lifted off his shoulders. And maybe she was right that he had become slightly distant, but it wasn't like her uncle, or rather the man that became his father, had died in that school.

In fact the only one who could probably understand his loss was Peyton. The chicken legged blonde who he had been friends with for only a little while, but to him it felt like forever. 'Between her mom and Ellie she's had it far worse then me, but I bet she still understands the loss I'm feeling' he thought.

All this introspective thought was making his mind race though. He reached over onto his bedside table and grabbed the first book he could feel. The book turned out to be the diary, 'Well started it earlier today might as well finish his first entry' he thought opening it to where he had dog eared the page.

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Eugene, Michael, Jacob, and Nathaniel walked into the recruiting office and saw their old basketball coach behind the desk.

Coach William Durham was a veteran of the first world war, serving in France and making rank of staff sergeant in the army. Though he was barely fifty, he still looked like a man ready to fight, unfortunately for him the army put him in charge of recruiting in Tree Hill instead going to the front.

"What can I help you boys with?" Sergeant Durham asked looking up from his desk at the four boys he knew.

"We want to join the fight against the Nazis." Eugene answered looking at the posters around the office for the army, of all the posters hanging up the airborne one seemed to intrigue him the most.

"Why are you boys itching to go off and fight? We've only been at war for a few months, you lot have a load of time before you're called up." Durham told them, looking over each of the boys he had just stopped coaching only a few months ago.

"Well coach we thought it was our patriotic duty, plus it's better to sign up together and stick together rather than let the draft rip us apart." Nathaniel said since his brother was currently spacing out and the other two didn't seem to inclined to speak up.

"Boys I'm going to tell you the same thing I told my ten year old Brian," Durham said standing up and giving each of the teens a hard look. "And that is you all are too young for this war and if it does come to y'all fighting let the draft do it, but for now get out of my office." He finished with authority in his voice then began to walk away from the boys.

"But coach you always said during basketball that we were the closest group of men you had ever coached, so if one of us wants to join we should all join. And what about this airborne business though," Eugene asked looking at his old coach's body stop and begin turning around, "it says hazardous pay and elite training for those who volunteer to do it." As Eugene finished sergeant Durham was back at the desk staring Eugene down.

"Listen boys, war is not basketball. War is the exact opposite of whatever the hell you think it is and I am not going to be the ones to send you over there, or to your deaths." He yelled at the four boys before continuing, "And I had the same thoughts as you all have right now, patriotic fervor and want to go prove yourself in combat, but you learn real quick that war is not all the great things you hear about. So why don't you boys go back home and wait for your turn." As he ended his tirade he sat down in his chair hoping to calm himself down a little before he had a heart attack.

It was quiet in the office, the four boys not knowing how to answer what just happened in front of them, and sergeant Durham not wanting to break the quiet that the four boys were sharing. Eugene was the first to speak out of them all though, his words thought out and ready to answer the man in front of him. "Coach, if I can still call you that, I know what you are thinking, that we have these thoughts of grandeur and that we are going to go and try to be heroes. And while we all might have those thoughts in our heads I can tell you that none of us our going to go out of our ways to get killed if we can help it." He paused watching to see if his old coach had broken down on not signing them up.

After a few seconds he continued, "I've read about the great war, Hemingway and Remarque wrote great books on what that war was like, and I can assure you that, at least for myself, that I understand why you won't do it. War is an awful thing, but this war isn't something we can let slide, the Nazi's are rampaging across Europe killing everything in their sights. If we don't stop them they will eventually come over here and we cannot allow that to happen. So please allow us to enlist, and if you can keep us together it would probably help keep each of us more alive than if the draft split us apart."

The sergeant looked like Atlas with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He knew what he should do, he should send them home and keep them away from the violence. But he also knew that damn Eugene was right, the Nazis were a terror for all of mankind and it would take the young to rid them of this earth. "Ok you convinced me...now you said you wanted to know more about the army airborne, well let me grab the information from inside here," he said and began rummaging through his desk.

He grabbed a stack of paper and thrust them out in front of the four, "Here each of you grab one and read over what the airborne business entails and I'll be back in ten minutes to hear what y'all think, and from what I know about you boys I'm betting y'all won't like it and it might change your mind." He finished and stood up then turned back down the hallway.

The four teens then sat down around the room and began reading what the airborne had in store for them. After a few minutes of silence Jacob looked up from his paper, "Boys I don't know if I can do this, jumping out of airplanes into enemy territory. Sound like a suicide mission to me." As he finished the others were looking at him with a similar look on their faces.

"I just don't think I could handle jumping out of an airplane fellas. I mean the pay and everything sounds nice but jumping out of an airplane...I may not be the brightest person but I'm not crazy." Michael responded as they all continued to sit in silence, pondering if it was worth it.

Nathaniel looked towards sergeant Durham's office before he spoke, "I think we should listen to coach, I mean he's never lead us astray before. Why go to fight in a war early instead of enjoying ourselves now, and then get called in by the draft later."

As Nathaniel got done speaking all three of the men turned their sights onto Eugene, waiting for his input into the situation. After a few second of thought Eugene found his words, this time to convince his friends instead of his coach, "Guys we could stay here, leave this office and enjoy our live as best as we can during this time. But what happens if we start to get split up into different areas and units, what will happen if one of us goes off and dies and the rest of us are still here knowing we might have been able to help or be there for each other."

Eugene paused and let his words sink into his friends minds before continuing, "By joining now and going into something that seems to need people we can stay together and keep each other as safe as possible, and if one of us dies die over there we will know that at least we were fighting with him and he didn't die alone. So lets put aside all the question and just jump into it...besides nobody ever did anything important without being a little scared."

As he finished his talking to his friends sergeant Durham walked back out from his office and stared down all the teens in front of him. "I heard you boys from the back, it seems some of you have reservations about fighting and what is going to happen to y'all once you get over there. So even though Eugene over there convinced to allow you fellas to join, I'm going to give you men two options right now." He told them sternly, and pausing for a moment before continuing. "You all can stay in this office, fill out the paperwork and catch the last physical before the doc goes home. Or you walk out that door and I don't see any of you until you get your draft card. You have a minute to figure out your futures boys."

With the end of his speech the boys all turned to each other, Eugene spoke first in the group, "Do you guys really want to do this, because we have about thirty seconds before it's one big no for all of us, so what's it going to be?"

None of the other three said anything for a few seconds before Nathaniel said, "I'll go with you Eugene. We at brothers after all." Eugene have him a nod of acknowledgment before turning to Michael and Jacob.

Both of them looked at each other before nodding, "We said we were going to do this so lets do this," Jacob responded to the other two.

Sergeant Durham hearing the whole thing, smiled at the boys and at their commitment to the fight and to each other. "Ok boys it seems y'all have come to a consensus...are you signing up for the airborne or are ya going back home?" He asked already knowing their answers.

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A knock on his door took Lucas's attention away from the diary. 'Who's knocking on my door this late at night' he thought as he got up from the bed and walked towards the door.

As he opened it up the first thing he saw were blond curls and then the green eyes of his friend. "Peyton what are you doing here this late" he asked her while motioning for her to come inside.

She gave him a smile stepping inside and sitting on his bed, "I was just out taking a walk and thinking about these last few days. And I guess I just wondered over here without noticing."

"You do realize it's a school night, and that it's almost midnight right?" He told her while sitting down next to her on his bed.

"Yea I know but I just needed someone to talk to, and you're always good at this opening up and listening thing." She answered blushing slightly at her embarrassing outburst. "It's just my minds been wandering lately between my moms, my brother, plus the incident with Nathan and Haley, and Brooke has been distant since the whole wedding debacle."

He sat there as she spoke watching her get more flustered and worked up about how much has happened in her life and in the past few weeks. He was also beginning to notice things about her that he shouldn't be noticing as a friend. Such as how beautiful her eyes were and how her face got this nice shade of red as she sat there talking about what was on her mind. 'She really is pretty when she gets flustered' he thought and started to laugh a little at his internal dialogue.

"Something funny there Luke or is this some type of inside joke" she asked glaring at him.

He laughed a little more at her question, he didn't know why but the look she had on her face that was supposed to be frightening wasn't, instead it was rather funny, "No it's nothing about you just a thought that passed through my head, but I'm back now so we can discuss what you have on your mind."

She huffed at his answer but smiled none the less and turned to look at him fully and noticed he still had a book in his hand, "Luke is that a new book or something?" she asked looking down at his hands.

He was surprised for a second by her question but then realized he did still have his great grandfathers book in his hand, "Oh yea I just found this one today in the attic, it's a pretty good read so far but I think it's time I put this away and I focused back on you." He answered and reached over to the bedside table and put the diary down.

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Ok so this end the chapter read review yada yada etc you know the drill


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